'Rusty' the ravenous rascal ravages rivers

The last time I came face to face with a crayfish it was bright red, steaming hot and piled high on a plate with a few dozen of its boiled brethren at a dive bar somewhere in Louisiana.

I recall that cold beer, cole slaw and corn on the cob also were present in copious amounts.

Other than overturning stream or river rocks to find a few for bass bait in my youth, any involvement with crayfish at this stage involves those fit for human consumption.

Down in the Big Easy neck of the bayou, they were called (the somewhat unappetizing) "mudbugs" - or just "crawdads."

According to wildlife folks, there are heaps of species of crayfish, and some of you are no doubt familiar with the little, brown mini-lobster-type critters found in fresh water throughout Pennsylvania. The rest can find them bagged and frozen in the seafood section of some supermarkets ... check to learn their country of origin.

Like lobster, a relative, they have a jointed head, midsection, jointed body, probing antennae and that fanned tail.

They eat algae, insects, tiny fish, and like deer these days are opportunistic feeders - game-fish eggs for the former, your rose bushes for the latter.

So let us introduce another nefarious invasive species, Orconectes rusticus, or "hey, you can call me Rusty" as in the Rusty Crayfish, which like most invasive species chews its way through the scenery, in this case aquatic.

This is a continuing series on our "invasion of the body snatchers" columns.

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Remember the classic "rock snot" expose? We are, after all, a public-service outfit.

The list of "invasive species" may surprise you. It includes plants, bugs, those yucky slugs and reptiles, fish, birds, mammals and the Walmart in your neighborhood.

There are hundreds of living and growing things that don't have their green cards and are thus unwelcome. We recognize some, like kudzu, which is really a wonder to behold in the wild. I think the inventor of plastic wrap lived on a diet of kudzu; the idea was planted in his daily salad.

There is something called "dog strangling vine" a.k.a. "swallowwort" on the list complied by various invasive species information centers. If anyone has had a dog strangled by same, please let me know.

On that note, domestic dogs and cats are considered invasive. Say it ain't so.

Feral cats, which should be shot on sight, I can understand.

Curly leaf pond weed, which is choking our little lake in Susquehanna County, makes the hit list, and our battle plans include weapons of mass destruction on the order of an Agent Orange knockoff and more stocking of grass carp to eat the water lettuce.

Grass carp are on the invasive-species list. Fire to fight fire, etc.

Bullfrogs also make the most-wanted list (sorry, Jeremiah.)

Wild boars run rampant, stomp and slash field crops and are terrors in even Pennsylvania.

One plus is that they taste good; pulled pork is pulled pork. So do frog legs, if you're motivated by food on the table to help eliminate these ravaging hordes.

Meanwhile, our nasty nibbler, Rusty, is chomping its way through game-fish eggs and fry such as bluegills, trout and walleye, and it scarfs up food before native species can get to it.

Rust and his gang came, like most invasive species, from human sources. Read that unused fish bait or unwanted aquarium pets dumped in rivers or streams.

According to an article by outdoor writer Marcus Schneck, native crayfish populations are perhaps one or two per square foot; Rusty Crayfish can be found at 20 per square foot, probably about the same density as those boiled crawdads on my plate in Louisiana.

Manatawny Creek has gone from all native crayfish to all invasive, Schneck says, quoting David Lieb, an invertebrate zoologist.

Non-native crayfish are also in famous trout streams such as the Yellow Breeches, Spring and Penn's creeks.

So beware (insert theme from "Jaws" here) of non-native claws. Do not dump unused crawfish in waters where you fish, or elsewhere.